ERA finds grocer, former director deliberately underpaid staff
A Taupō Four Square supermarket and its former director have been hit with more than $80,000 in penalties and costs after the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) found they deliberately underpaid migrant workers, sought unlawful premiums for jobs, and failed to keep basic employment records.
The ERA ordered G & G Bolina Limited, trading as Four Square Tauhara, to pay $52,800 in penalties to the Crown, and its former director and shareholder to pay $27,840 personally.
The pair must also jointly pay $7,257.95 in costs and disbursements to the Labour Inspectorate.
The case was brought by a Labour Inspector from the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment (MBIE) following complaints from two migrant employees, who were working on Accredited Employer Work Visas tied to the company.
The migrant workers, both employed as store assistants, alleged they were being underpaid and asked to pay money to secure and keep their jobs.
The Labour Inspector's investigation uncovered wider breaches affecting two additional employees, including mishandling of annual leave and public holiday entitlements.
The respondents ultimately accepted the substantive breaches, which were recorded in a consent determination on liability in December 2025, and the ERA went on to determine penalties and costs "on the papers" without an oral hearing.
The ERA found the breaches...
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